God, Bailey looked adorable. All sleep tousled as he tried to bury himself further under the covers.
“C’mon, gorgeous. I know you want to sleep but this’ll make you feel better.” He placed the ibuprofen and glass of water on the bedside table and sat on the edge of the bed. “I promise to let you go back to sleep once you’ve taken the pills and drunk the water.”
“Urgh.” Whatever else Bailey tried to say was unintelligible.
Tom nudged the covers from over Bailey’s face. Bailey buried himself deeper into the pillow. “What was that?”
Bailey huffed and turned over, flinging an arm over his eyes. He peeked out. “I said you’re torturing me.”
“I’m saving you, you ungrateful fool.”
“I don’t need looking after and I’m not a fool. I just need sleep,” Bailey mumbled.
“Says the man who drank half his body weight in beer.” Tom chuckled.
“Urgh. Don’t remind me.” Bailey groaned and tried to turn over.
“Oh no you don’t.” Tom stopped him mid-roll and tried to pull him to sit up. Bailey must have gotten the hint that Tom wasn’t going to give up, and scooted up the bed to recline against the pillows. His dark hair fell across his forehead, and dark stubble graced his jaw, those grey eyes bleary as they gazed at Tom. Tom’s stomach fluttered as he admired the man in his bed. He raised a hand, Bailey’s skin warm under his fingers, and his breath caught as Bailey pressed his cheek into Tom’s palm. He loved the idea of Bailey wanting to get closer, moving toward him, craving his touch.
“You’re gorgeous.”
“You’re crazy.”
Bailey tried to push the lock of hair from his face but it fell back again. “Why’d you let me drink so much anyway?” Bailey groused as he tried to haul the covers back up to his chin.
“I thought I didn’t have to look after you.” Tom laughed as he pressed a couple of painkillers into Bailey’s palm.
“I give you permission to stop me drinking in future. Actually, scrap that, I probably won’t ever drink again. If you see me with a drink, remind me of this morning, will you?”
“Sure thing, baby.” Tom passed over the glass of water.
Bailey took the glass and looked up at Tom with large grey eyes. “Did you just call me baby?”
“I guess I did.” Wow, the endearment had just slipped out. Weird because Tom wasn’t usually the endearment type. “Is that okay?”
Bailey gave a shy smile. “I liked it.” His eyes widened. “Unless you’re calling me a big baby for not being able to handle my alcohol.”
Tom chuckled. “Never. I’m calling you my baby.” Mine.
Bailey’s grin widened, if that was possible. Tom found himself wanting to say all kinds of soppy stuff. How much he liked having Bailey in his bed—hangover or no hangover—how going to sleep and waking up next to him made him feel, how much he enjoyed Bailey’s company, valued his advice, wouldn’t have felt so positive about the future without him….
Tom cleared his throat. “C’mon. Take the pills. I’ll go make coffee.” Bailey swallowed the ibuprofen with a grimace and emptied the glass before placing it on the bedside table. He moved to get up but Tom held a hand to his chest. “I’ll bring you a cup of coffee, but go back to sleep if you like.”
“What about you?” Bailey snuggled back down, pulling on Tom’s hand. “You gonna come back to bed?”
“Sorry, Bails, I’ve got to get moving.” He glanced to the bedside clock. “The cafe opens in half an hour and I’m already late getting things ready.”
“’Kay.” Bailey gave a rueful smile, then pulled the covers over his head, already closing his eyes. Tom couldn’t hold back the warmth that filled his chest and stayed there for the rest of the day.
* * *
"C’mon. Talk to me, mate," Ryan pleaded over the phone. "I can tell there's something bothering you."
Bailey doodled on the notebook in front of him, random swirls and circles that had no meaning. A bit like his thoughts, he mused, a random mess of thoughts that he couldn't make any sense of. He had no idea where to start.
"I guess I'm just feeling a bit lost at the moment. There’s so much going on and I don't know where to start."
"Is this about the job?" Ryan asked.
Bailey drew another circle. “That's just part of it."
"You haven't had any luck finding anything yet?"
"My official end date isn’t for another six weeks or so, but I've managed to line up a bit of casual bar work while I figure out what it is I want to do long-term."
"That's great then, isn't it?" Ryan's voice sounded enthusiastic, but Bailey couldn't muster up the same feeling of excitement.
He was glad to know he’d have a bit of money coming in, but he still didn't feel like it was a proper future. “I suppose so.”
"I mean, money is money, it might not be exactly what you want to do, but—"
Bailey snapped, anger boiling to the surface. How dare Ryan make it sound so easy! "It's all right for you, you've got a job and it's a good job and something you like to do. You're building a career. You've got no idea what it's like." Bailey was aware his voice was rising and to his horror he felt tears begin to well. Dammit. He closed his eyes for a moment and focused on his breathing.
“Bailey?”
"I'm sorry—" Ryan didn’t deserve to have his head bitten off. Bailey heaved in another breath as he brought himself under control.
"There's nothing to be sorry for. It’s me who should be sorry. You're right, I have no idea what it's like to be in your shoes. I was trying to make you feel better. I'm just concerned about you. I only want to help."
The sympathy in Ryan's voice tore his heart open and Bailey couldn't help the sob as tears finally came to the surface. "I know," he managed to get out, his voice shaky.
"Holy shit, Bailey. I didn’t realise things were that bad. Now you really have to tell me what’s going on. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s happening in your life. I mean, there may not be much I can do from over here, but I’m your friend and I’ll try my bloody best to help, even if it’s just to lend an ear. Sometimes having someone to listen helps.” His voice lowered. “Talk to me, Bails.”
Bailey drew in a deep breath and dropped the pen on the paper. “It’s more than work.”
“Is it your family? Your mum or Sarah? Fuck, is it your dad? Or has something happened with Tom?”
“I got evicted last week. I’ve only got a couple of weeks to find a new place.”
“Jesus, Bailey. That wasn’t what I was expecting. I mean, your landlord’s a jerk—”
“Huh.” Bailey huffed out a laugh. “That’s the understatement of the century.”
“So where are you going to go?”
“I don’t know. I’m checking out rental listings and I’ve put the word around. I’m hoping something will come up. It’s hard with the uncertainty around work, you know?”
“I’ll give you a hand with a reference if you need it, and I’ll help with the bond if that arsehole doesn’t give you yours back.”
“Thanks, Ryan. Hopefully it won’t come to that, but thanks, mate. I should be okay.” If I say it enough times, maybe it’ll be true. And he really wished it would come true because he wanted to line up a new place before he had to tell Tom was a loser he was. Memories of last week’s party flashed through his mind—Tom’s friends celebrating their various achievements. All desire to confide in Tom had fled in an instant, and Bailey was determined to sort out his shit before Tom even had to know.
“And if you can’t find somewhere in time, I can talk to Mum and Dad, see if they’ll put you up for a while.”
“I haven’t even met your parents.”
“And you probably won’t have to. It’ll work out, you’ll see.”
“I’m glad you’re so confident.”
“Yeah, well no point worrying any more than you need to. Now tell me about you and Barista Guy. You seemed to be getting along very well at my farewell party.” Innuendo laced Ryan’s voice.
“Oh God, Ryan. He’s amazing. And his name is Tom, by the way. You referred to him by name earlier.”
“I know. I just like giving you shit, and he’ll always be Barista Guy to me. Maybe I’ll start calling him BG for short—”
“Ryan!”
The sound of Ryan’s laughter down the phone line lightened Bailey’s mood, and conversation turned to lighter matters, including the new experiences Ryan was having living in an Asian country. The food, the culture, meeting new people… it all sounded wonderful. Bailey was happy for his friend and very glad for the distraction as he listened to Ryan’s adventures.